The 6 Best Jeep Winches For The Money — JK, Wrangler Reviews 2019

If you are looking for Jeep Winches, then look no further, you have come to the right place. After carrying out in-depth reviews of five of the best Jeep Winches for the money. I wanted to highlight the best available in terms of value for money, features, safety, efficiency and build quality.

With the number of Jeep Winches currently available, I have decided to share my findings to help you simplify the process of choosing and buying the best Jeep Winch for your individual needs. Whether that is off-roading, farming or anything else that you fancy.

The bumper winch location supports up to a maximum 12,000 lbs. winch. Fog light housings are OE size, while two tabs on the pre-runner hoop allow for fitment of extra lights. High strength D-ring mounts of 4.75-ton load baring capacity are welded both inside and outside (D-rings are included).

This Off-road Front Bumper with Winch Mounting Plate works very well with many different Winches. We found the Smittybilt 97495 XRC Winch was able to be mounted on to this bumper with the holes lining up perfectly, after the bumper was already installed. Normally the winch must be mounted to the bumper before the bumper is mounted on to the Jeep.

Here is an entry-level winch, aimed at those who may only need it occasionally. This second-generation winch has a rating of 8500 pounds for ‘line pull’ and supplies up to 94 feet of 5/16" steel wire rope with heavy-duty latched hook and rope thimble.

On the Superwinch, hawse fairleads are supported but are not supplied, which at this price point is fine (hawse fairleads are used in off-roading to guide the winch cable and remove lateral strain from the chain when winching).

All-in-all, the Superwinch 1585202 LP8500 Gen II Winch is a highly affordable, heavy-duty utility winch which can take a knock or two with no problems. If you’re on a budget, this is one of the best winches for Jeeps (Wranglers, JK and other models).

This winch works great for the weekend warrior looking for fun on muddy trails. Also; conveniently, it mounts on the same bolt pattern as most Warns and many other mainstream winches. In short, you won’t find a best Jeep winches for the money.

3. Smittybilt 97495 XRC Winch - 9500 lb. Load Capacity

Mounting the Smittybilt 97495 XRC Winch on to your bumper is relatively easy and should take under an hour or less.

The 6.6 horsepower completely water-sealed fully amphibious powerful electric motor and a 500-amp solenoid, coupled with a 3 Stage Planetary Gear System mean this bumper mounted winch provides reliable power and performance, with a very quick ‘pull-in’.

The Smittybilt has a corded remote, making the (9500lbs load capacity) winching easier and safer, because it’s possible to get out of the way of the cable for better line of sight and for safety in case it snaps).

Smittybilt offers reliable and rugged, very impressive ‘bang-for-your-buck’ performance against the more established and much more expensive big-name brands, as well as a limited lifetime warranty and five-year guarantee (or 100,000 miles) on the electrics!

The winch features a roller fairlead included (mounted in the middle) as standard; and Warn’s waterproof, convertible control pack, which can be attached to the winch or remotely mounted, allowing different winch mounting options and looks.

The Warn 86255 VR10000 10,000 lb Winch fits easily (as is always the case) with a purchased ‘mounting plate’/ AEV Adapter bracket, or after-market bumper). This is a sturdy winch which looks great. Its coated in an attractive, black, high quality powder finish, with stainless steel fasteners and with aluminum lightweight drum design.

This can be attached to various mounting options, either on the winch or remotely, for safe, practical and easy control while you are winching. To look at, this winch looks great. Its finished in an attractive, black, high quality powder coating, with stainless steel corrosion resistant fasteners and with aluminum lightweight winch drum design.

This Warn Zeon 12 Winch isn’t cheap, but you do get what you pay for; this is a very well-engineered, top performing, heavy-duty ‘line-pull’ winch. Perfect for repeated and reliable winching of heavy vehicles.

Things to Consider When Choosing the Jeep Winches

Remember; the first thing for you to consider when you are shopping for Jeep winches is will it fit? You will need a suitable AEV adapter bracket (sold separately) to use your chosen winch with your factory bumper, or alternatively, purchase an aftermarket bumper with a decently thick mounting plate built in.

Also, be aware, there may be other fitment issues when installing a particular winch on a certain Jeep, so always check with the manufacturers first for compatibility.

Next; look for the features you need and always go for build quality. Roller fairleads are very useful, as are remote convertible, winch controls for safety; and lightweight, synthetic, super strong kink free rope!

The next thing to consider when choosing the best Jeep Winch for your needs, is how heavy is your vehicle? By multiplying the GVWR* of your vehicle by 1.5, you will be able to calculate the minimum winch ‘pull-strength’ required for your vehicle.

For example, the 2018 Jeep Wrangler SUV has a *GVWR of 5,000lbs. Therefore, the minimum ‘pull-strength’ winch to suit the Wrangler is 7,500lbs.

Pull Strength

But, there is more; this is only the minimum pull-strength required; do not for a minute, think this will be enough to get your Jeep out of trouble on a steep hill. It’s safe to say, if you want your winch to be able to operate reliably and in a sturdy fashion, on steep inclines, without overload or circuit breaker activation, then your chosen winch should have a ‘pull-strength’ far greater than one and a half times the Gross Vehicle Weigh.

Rating of your vehicle. Basically, it quickly becomes a matter of how much power you can afford (or can do without). Don’t expect to be using an under-powered winch to heroic effect! Therefore, all the winches reviewed here would be suitable for your Wrangler, but moving below 9,500 pounds would probably reduce the usefulness and efficiency of your chosen winch.

(*GVWR = Gross vehicle weight rating, which is the maximum operating weight of a vehicle, specified by the manufacturer; including the vehicle’s body, chassis, fuel, engine fluids, accessories, driver, passengers & with cargo, but excluding the weight of trailers)

Usage

Another thing to consider is how much use is your winch likely to get? Are you an avid off-roader and explorer, or is the winch something you hope never to have to use? Obviously, you will want a powerful winch if you take your off-roading seriously; but equally, even if you never plan to have to use it, do you really want to skimp on something which could get you out of deep trouble in some future unforeseen emergency?

It’s worth remembering that when you drive on rough terrain, your winch is an insurance policy; and could be a life-saver in a true emergency. In short; when off-road, it’s better to have a Jeep winch and not need it, then need a Jeep Winch and not have one.

Therefore, I would say, regardless of your intentions (if you are going off-road), get the most powerful, durable and high-quality build Jeep Winch you can afford (within reason). There could come a time out on the lonely trail when you’ll be glad you did!

Final Note​​​​​

So, there you have it! If you are looking for the best jeep winches for the money, I hope these reviews have been helpful in guiding you through the many pitfalls and confusion, towards the most efficient, long lasting and cost-effective solution available, for your particular set of Jeep Winch-related problems!

I wanted to highlight some of what is available in terms of good value, features, safety, efficiency and build quality. With the number of Jeep Winches currently available, there has never been a better time than now to shop for a great Jeep Winch. On that note; happy shopping, then its off up the woodland trails!

Dennis P. Baughman

Dennis P. Baughman is the Editor of UnbeatenRolling. His disabilities couldn't stop him to be self driven person. He started this blog to share his personal knowledge about all kinds of wheelchairs and different tips and advice about chairs.

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